A weekly review of progress on the Quality Public Schools
Agenda and other legislation that impacts our students, classrooms, and public education.

October 3 , 2003

NEA National Day to Repeal Social Security Offsets

On the Hill - October 1, the NEA National Day to Repeal
Social Security Offsets, was a great day on Capitol Hill! Educators from 47 states visited Congressional offices to urge repeal
of laws that unfairly reduce the Social Security benefits of educators and other public employees.

NEA activists have won the support of:

271 Members of Congress as cosponsors for H.R. 594 (McKeon (R-CA), Berman (D-CA)), and

At home - More than 7,000 colleagues phoned in their stories
of the offsets' harsh impact.

The Price of Success: 'Line Overload!' - A
very special "THANK YOU!!" to all who had to try and try again to record your message. The flood of phone messages challenged
the capacity of the telephone network and triggered 'line overload.' It proved a 'teachable moment' and the engineers designed
a way to double the capacity of the system. Thank you for your patience, tenacity, and steadfast support.

Note: The toll-free line [1-800-818-6030] will
be open through Wednesday, October 8.

D.C. Vouchers - NEA Message Resonates; Senate Delays Vote (HR
2765)

The
Senate delayed a vote on the House-passed D.C. voucher plan after a start-and- stop spirited debate. The transparent truth
of NEA message has given the Senate pause: "Vouchers don't work. Do what's right. Vote NO to the false-hope of ill-conceived,
taxpayer-paid private school vouchers in the District of Columbia. "

Send your message to CongressThe D.C. voucher bill is
likely to come up again when the Senate returns from the October 3 - 14 recess. Tell Congress: "Do what's right. Just say 'NO' to vouchers."

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